


Santa’s Little Helper

by LexLemon



Series: I’ll Build a World Around You [6]
Category: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Christmas Tree Decorating, Cliff Booth has a heart, Cliff just being a good dad to his little girl, Cliff loves his girls, Daddy-daughter bonding, Domestic Fluff, Gen, Little kids acting like little kids, There are an egregious amount of decorations on this tree, Tracy’s still learning how to talk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:29:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28182441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LexLemon/pseuds/LexLemon
Summary: Cliff wasn’t sure if he should have expected more or less effort from his one-year-old daughter than what he got when she decorated their Christmas tree. Either way, he appreciated the help.
Relationships: Cliff Booth & Original Female Character(s), Cliff Booth/Rick Dalton
Series: I’ll Build a World Around You [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1852639
Comments: 4
Kudos: 6





	Santa’s Little Helper

**Author's Note:**

> If you celebrate any (or at all), happy holidays! If not, I hope you enjoy this fic featuring our favorite couple and their family anyway! :)

_“Jingle_ _bell, jingle bell,_

_Jingle bell rock._

_Jingle bell swing_

_And jingle bells ring.”_

The sudden sound of giggling interspersed with the Christmas carol on the radio caused Cliff Booth to take his focus away from the Christmas tree before him. He looked around the side of the towering tree in his living room and started to laugh as well upon seeing the cause of so much joy.

The noise came from his one-year-old daughter, Tracy Dalton, who was being pelted with kisses from the family pit bull. Tracy would try to hold her arms up to cover her face through her giggles, but the dog always managed to push her way through and lick her face.

"Awwww, is Brandy giving you kisses, Tracy?" Cliff asked with a smile. "Is she saying how much she loves you?"

Brandy pulled away for a moment to pant before her owner, the corners of her mouth almost curling into a smile. Tracy's laughter began to quiet down, allowing her to place her hands on her face to hide her grin.

Cliff shook his head and chuckled, eventually turning back to the Christmas tree. "My girls," he said to himself.

Cliff was glad that he had Brandy to keep an extra eye on Tracy when he needed it. His boyfriend was busy rehearsing lines for a TV episode he was filming the next day, but he didn't want that to stop them from getting in the holiday spirit. This led to Cliff getting a head start on decorating their tree while also looking after their little girl.

Cliff reached down into the box on the floor, his hand rifling around the ball- and icicle-shaped ornaments colored red and green. He soon settled on a red ball and looked around for a branch to put it on, absently humming along to the radio while he did.

Once he wrapped its cord around the branch, he heard the sound of little feet running up to him. He sighed through his smile and looked down to see Tracy staring up at him with a blank gaze.

"Hi, baby," he said. "What is it?"

"Tracy help," she said with a slight bounce on her feet. Although, the fact that she wasn't even two yet and was still learning how to talk made it come out as, "Tacy heyup."

"You want to help me with the tree, Tracy?"

"Yeah."

Cliff looked between Tracy and the tree, pressing his lips together in a straight line. He wasn't entirely sure how much help she could be with the ornaments. They were pretty delicate, and she probably couldn't properly place them on a branch yet. Still, maybe he could find something for her to do. Cliff usually did ever since "Tracy help" had become a cry he heard daily from her. And how could he say no to that face? It was pretty much Rick's face, and he could never say no to Rick either. Cliff was destined to be a pushover for the Daltons, but he wouldn't have it any other way.

Letting out a sigh, he said, "Alright, baby. You can help."

Tracy's giggling grin returned as she ran over to the box of ornaments, bending over to pick one up.

Cliff was quick to run over to her and pull her away from it, wrapping his arms around her and pressing her to his chest. "No, no, no. Not those," he said. "Those are too big for you. Let's see..."

Cliff looked around the floor, where other types of decorations were littered around their feet in their own packaging. A sense of relief filled him when he found a box of silver tinsel close by.

"Oh, here we go." Cliff carried Tracy over to the box and opened it for her, reaching his hand inside to hold some of the stringy paper.

"You know what this is? This is tinsel," he told her.

Running her chubby hands over it, Tracy repeated, "Tinsel."

"Right. So what you do with it." Cliff then took her in his arms and carried her back over to the tree. "You stand before the tree, and you throw it on like this." He threw the tinsel onto the tree and watched the pieces fall across several branches, adding a little sparkle around the other ornaments.

Tracy let out a gasp at the trick. "Pretty!"

"Uh huh. You want to try?"

"Yeah!"

"Alright, go ahead."

Cliff then set Tracy down and returned to the ornaments on his own side of the tree. He looked over at Tracy and found her bending over the tinsel box, her hands rifling through it. She picked up a clump and toddled back to the tree, throwing the tinsel at it with a jump. Her laughter ran out in the room as she watched the tinsel fall over the branches, leading her to clap at her success.

"Nice job, Tracy!" Cliff said. "Now keep doing that all over the tree, okay?"

"'Kay!"

While Cliff resumed his own part in decorating, Tracy ran back and forth between the tinsel and the tree. He was barely paying attention to her and how well she was doing, but a part of him knew that he would definitely be picking up stray tinsel off the floor when they were finished.

By the time he had finished covering one side of the tree with ornaments, Cliff felt something collide into his leg, bringing him to look down. Tracy looked up at him with her wide blue eyes, a clump of tinsel held tightly in her fist.

"Oh, am I in your way, honey?" Cliff asked as he took a step back.

That seemed to be the answer, as Tracy ran in front of him, threw on her tinsel, then ran off to fetch more.

Cliff walked around the tree to observe his daughter's work and found himself laughing at what she had created. He didn't know what he had expected, but the perfect ring of tinsel around the bottom of the tree shouldn't have surprised him as much as it did.

"Here, Tracy," Cliff said as he picked her up. "Let me help you reach the high parts."

He then became Tracy's crutch in doing her job, as he carried her around the tree and helped her cover every inch in sparkling silver tinsel. Once it was complete, he set her back down on the floor and kissed her cheek.

"Way to go, baby. You did so good."

"All done?"

Cliff turned back to the tree and quirked his lip. The tree wasn't completely done yet since there were plenty of ornaments and decorations that still needed to go on. The only problem was that he didn't know what else she could do to help.

Cliff looked around and let out a sigh of relief when he spotted a box of candy canes on the kitchen counter. That would do just fine.

"No, not done yet. Here, I have something else for you."

Cliff grabbed the box and placed it on the floor before her. He picked one up and handed it to her, asking, "You want to hang candy canes on the tree for me?"

Tracy stared at the candy cane for a moment, her hands slowly moving around the peppermint. "Candy," she said as she raised it to her mouth.

Cliff quickly pulled her hands back down and said, "Ah, ah, ah! Not for eating. If we still have some later, you can have one when you're done." He pointed at the tree and added, "Put it on the tree."

Tracy continued to look at the candy cane for a moment, her blank stare indicating that she was processing his words. She eventually got the hint, as she walked over to the tree and placed the candy cane on an empty branch.

"There you go. That's what you do," Cliff said. "Now keep doing that."

Cliff then resumed his ornament hanging and fell back into his pattern, though a part of him suspected that Tracy's new job would end in the same way her last one had.

Sure enough, he soon felt Tracy touch his leg and stepped back to find a ring of candy canes at the bottom of the tree. Chuckling to himself, Cliff scooped Tracy back into his arms and lifted her up.

"Alright, Pop's going to help you," he said, bringing her around the tree. "I know it's hard being little, but you're doing the best you can."

Cliff then moved Tracy around different sides of the tree so she could hang up the rest of the candy canes. He had to move her away from branches that already had ornaments on them several times, but she eventually got the gist of it and found her own branches.

Cliff couldn't help but pat himself on the back for the job he gave her. While they weren't ornaments, candy canes were a nice alternative and stepping stone to getting her to ornaments one day.

It wasn't long before the back door of the house opened, allowing Rick Dalton to step inside and set his tape recorder down on the table.

"How'd you do?" Cliff asked, stepping around to face him.

"Fine, fine. I-I-I think I'm r-ready for tomorrow.”

"Don't worry. You're going to do great." Cliff leaned in to give Rick a quick kiss, but Rick still seemed to be a little tired and stressed after he pulled away.

He said, "Yeah, I better." Settling his eyes on Tracy, Rick's face began to light up as he reached out to grab her.

"Hey, little darlin'," he said, lifting her up for a moment before settling her into his arms. "A-A-Are you d-decoratin' the tree w-with Pop?"

"Tracy help!"

"Aw, good job." Rick leaned in and planted a kiss on her lips. "Daddy's s-s-s-so proud of you."

"There's still plenty of ornaments for you to work with if you want to hang some too," Cliff said as he walked back to the tree.

"Yeah, thanks." Rick then turned to Tracy and gave her a small bounce in his arms. "You want to h-h-h-help Daddy decorate the t-t-tree?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah, come on."

While Cliff's definition of Tracy helping was finding something for her to actually help with, Rick's definition was making her feel included while he did the stuff she was too little for. This meant that he kept Tracy close to his hip while he and Cliff hung up the remainder of the ornaments.

Rick looked over at Tracy now and then and saw the full wonder in his daughter's eyes as she stared at the tree, making his chest swell with joy. Even though she was so little, she already felt how magical this time of year was. He only hoped that she kept that with her as she grew up.

Once every last inch of the tree was covered with some type of decoration, the family stepped back and stood side by side to admire their work. The tree seemed to shimmer in the California glow coming through their window thanks to the tinsel and ornaments that adorned each branch, and the candy canes added a nice pop of color and festivity.

"You know, this might be our best tree yet," Cliff said as he wrapped his arm around Rick.

Rick added, "Yeah. Yeah, i-i-i-it's real nice."

"All done?" Tracy asked.

"Yeah, we're all done, Tracy."

Tracy responded with a deep yawn, her tiny fist rubbing against her eye. Cliff cooed at her and rubbed his finger over her cheek, watching as her eyes slowly drooped down.

"It looks like someone else is all done too. It's just about time for your nap, little lady, isn't it?"

"I-I-I'll go p-put her down." Rick pushed Tracy up in his arms and turned about, walking with her towards the back of her house.

Cliff watched Tracy go with a soft gaze, the side of her head pressed on Rick's shoulder as she already fell asleep. He then turned back to the tree and looked over his daughter's handiwork on each branch.

Even if she couldn't be a large help in certain tasks just yet, Tracy's willingness to jump in and do things with him touched him all the same. He just knew that spirit in her was going to last well into adulthood. And that was really all that Cliff could ever want. Because having Tracy be a part of his family was the best present he could ever ask for.

**Author's Note:**

> Songs referenced:
> 
> “Jingle Bell Rock”-Bobby Helms: https://youtu.be/Z0ajuTaHBtM


End file.
